Meditation as Part of Your Self Improvement Program

Welcome to the Meditation section of the Routes to Self Improvement web site. The practice of meditation dates back to ancient times, and has never disappeared in some cultures around the world, especially those of a more spiritual nature than the modern Western world.

Today, there is an ever increasing interest in the West in the power of meditation to relax, heal, develop and fortify. That increasing interest has led to increasing awareness, respect and understanding in some elements of Western society, yet to most meditation and meditating remain something of a mystery. That is a shame, because there is nothing mystifying or obscure about meditation at all. However, like many things new to an individual, there is a learning curve; a learning curve that is well worth pursuing.

An Introduction to Meditation

Meditation is one of the most ancient methods to relieve stress, and to assist you in reaching a higher level of spiritual existence and self awareness. Meditation has been widely practised in many cultures around the world, especially the more spiritual cultures of Asia.

Through meditation, an individual is able to harness the almost endless capabilities of the mind. Many traditional healers over the past centuries have understood the power the mind has over the human body. I was well into my 20's before I even began to see that, and only recently has science taken a serious interest in something that was obvious and natural to past cultures. Those past cultures of the East still use meditation as a matter of course today.

In its "normal" state, the human mind constantly looks outward, persistently distracted by the surrounding activities. The mind enables us to make sense of the world around us, by interpreting everything that is happening within the range of our senses. This is happening without a break, all day long; millions of signals being gathered by hearing, seeing, touching, smelling and tasting. All of them being thrown into the melting pot of our minds to be filtered, collated and interpreted.

Meditation helps us to refocus our mindsand concentrate on our our inner self. The meditation process can be used to open up a new state of mind, a new level of self awareness. This can result in accelerated personal growth, plus an awareness of our bodies at a level we may not have experienced before. Simply through relaxing and focusing on our inner selves, meditation can allow us to see and communicate with all of our body. The expression "mind over matter" can become a living reality as mediation takes you into a level of complete self control.

The Practice of Meditation

Meditation is actually a very simple process, and regular practice can soon take you to quite an advanced level of self awareness. The practice of meditation begins by achieving a deep state of relaxation. This is best reached when sitting in a comfortable chair, or reclining on a mat on the floor. If you can find total silence then that will help you, and you need to be well supported throughout the body as it relaxes totally.

Once you achieve total relaxation, it is time to try to switch the focus from the outside world to the world within. There are many ways to do this, but one is to imagine a lake, and your consciousness as the ripples on the surface. Below the surface of the lake is your subconscious, and meditation allows you to build the concentration to dive in where you have never been before.

You enter not a new world, but a world you have not explored before; a world that is yours, and that is yours to access, control, manipulate and do with whatever you want.

I hope all the articles that will follow on this fascinating topic will help you as part of a broad front approach to self improvement.

If you find it difficult to relax sufficently, I suggest yoga as a great way to get started. The first time I ever achieved a true meditative state was at my first yoga lesson. We began and ended with relaxation, and I can honestly say I felt remarkably different and relaxed after both sessions.